Pink Cadillac [VHS]

While clearly not Clint Eastwood's best film, this is not bad, either. It is entertaining and shows him as being more than just the man of few words as he is in Dirty Harry etc. The villains are rather disturbing; they threaten a couple and they almost burn a man to death; they're not just target practice and all mouth. The only snags here is that we don't see what happens to Clint's enemies as he escapes them, and the baby never makes any noise at inconvenient moments (as with baby in The Hills have Eyes). Expect a less than absolutely serious film, but it is likeable enough if you're a Clint Eastwood fan.

The first Clint Eastwood film not to be given a cinema release in most overseas territories is a lightweight but amiable enough star vehicle that casts him as a skip tracer tracking down Bernadette Peters, who has skipped bail and headed for Reno in her recidivist husband's pink Cadillac unaware that the boot contains $250,000 of his neo-Nazi friends' money. The presence of the star's green t-shirt and blue jeans outfit from Every Which Way But Loose clearly signposts it as one of his periodic redneck comedies, but unlike the superior Honkytonk Man and Bronco Billy, there's no depth of feeling here. It's all on the surface and ambles along predictably, but doesn't really have an ending, with action scenes that are decidedly tame and lame and a main villain who's decidely unthreatening (for all their posturing, the bad guys don't really do much more than waste their time on target practice).

A more restrained Peters than we're used to gives better than she gets from the script, but Clint is clearly having a whale of a time with a part that enables him to show a lot more range and extrovert good-humoured charm than much of the rest of his career put together. That said, some of his disguises are a bit hard to take - especially when he dons shades, spats, gold lame suit and Charlie Parker jive - although he does make a worryingly convincing inbred Southern gumby at one point. With the Malpaso stock company represented by Geoffrey Lewis (as a spaced-out hippy that really should have been played by Dennis Hopper), Bill McKinney and Mara Corday and with bit parts from Jim Carrey as a casino entertainer and James Cromwell as a none-too-bright desk clerk, this is clearly one for the money rather than one from the heart. If the script could have done with a tune up and the film benefited from tighter direction and a little pruning, this still just about passes as pleasant enough Saturday night fare for all that, though chances are the only thing about it you'll remember an hour later is the end title song.

Pink Cadillac is directed by Buddy Van Horn, written by John Eskow and stars Clint Eastwood, Bernadette Peters & Timothy Carhart. Story sees Peters as Lou Ann McGuinn , who finally has enough of her no good husband Roy (Carhart) and flees off with their baby in his treasured pink Cadillac. Unbeknown to her the car contains a lot of money garnered from illegal means by the white supremacist group that Roy was hanging around with. Bounty hunter Tommy Novak (Eastwood) is then brought in to capture her since she has skipped bail. Once locating her an unusual friendship begins to form as both of them get deeper and deeper into trouble as the gang close in.

Pink Cadillac was a flop on release, and now it's almost forgotten by not only the casual film fan, but also by many of Eastwood's loyal fan club. Yet it's hardly the disaster some have painted it out to be. Yes the plot is a thin one and has been done brilliantly before; notably Midnight Run a year previously. While there's not enough action and comedy to sustain the 2 hour running time. It's also not unfair to say that the villains here-an array of dunderhead white supremacists-are weak and in the case of Carhart ; badly acted. But Pink Cadillac does have its moments and in Eastwood & Peters we have a most engaging, unpredictable odd couple act that is easy to warm too. Peters turns in a fine comedy performance, both psychically and verbally. Her ability to blend cute and needy with spunky feistiness works well off of Eastwood's more rugged charms. It seems that finally having a co-star of some worth is loosening the big man up, for here he enjoys playing comedy with his series of caricature disguises that he uses to catch the bail jumpers that form part of the story.

Perhaps it's a little unsettling to some fans to see Eastwood not being overtly macho, but this does make for a nice change of pace for Eastwood. A return to his days with the Orangutan; which incidentally up to Pink Cadillac's release were his biggest hit movies. But breaking it down it's a neat character that Eastwood has taken on with Tommy Novak. Almost anti-macho yet able to single handedly protect Lou Ann and her baby. You feel that this was a personal and deliberate choice for Eastwwood in a decade that for him mostly consists of diminishing sequels and poorly scripted misfires. Pink Cadillac has been lumped in with the worst of his career, but viewing it now it holds up much better than nearly all of his 80s output. File it along side Bronco Billy as one of his most underrated performances.

Not breaking any rules of the genre, or showing technical prowess and sharp scripting, Pink Cadillac is still the kind of inoffensive fun that knows its limits. Boosted by a relaxed Eastwood and a perky Miss Peters it's just waiting to be reappraised by a new audience. 7/10